This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
Month: July 2019
Sleep Hack: Hide the Coffee Maker after 3 p.m.
Afternoon caffeine: Did you know that it takes six hours for your body to process and eliminate just half of the caffeine you consume in one sitting? If you’re drinking a cup of joe around 3 p.m. to make it through the afternoon slump, it could be keeping you awake at night. Besides contributing to insomnia, caffeine is a stimulant that can also increase feelings of nervousness, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
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Stress Hack: Quieting the Mind
Use cognitive distancing.
Our mind usually worries about things it is convinced are true but, most of the time, are actually not true. You can balance your mind’s tendency to predict the worst outcome by coming up with positive alternative scenarios. For instance, your spouse seems distant and is sending out a lot of emails. You decide he must be having an affair. An alternative scenario: He is working extra hard on a project. Analyze what’s most likely to happen. Most of the time, the worst-case scenario your brain comes up with is not the most likely one.
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Longevity Tip: Push Away Before You Fill Up
Avoid Overeating
The link between calorie intake and longevity currently generates a lot of interest. Animal studies suggest that a 10–50% reduction in normal calorie intake may increase maximum lifespan. Studies of human populations renowned for longevity also observe links between low calorie intake, an extended lifespan, and a lower likelihood of disease. . . . Long-term calorie restriction is often unsustainable and can include negative side effects, such as increased hunger, low body temperature, and a diminished sex drive.
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Health Hack: Make Exercise a Way of Life
Be Consistent
Chase Squires is the first to admit that he’s no fitnessexpert. But he is a guy who used to weigh 205 pounds, more than was healthy for his 5’4″ frame. “In my vacation pictures in 2002, I looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man at the beach,” says the 42-year-old Colorado resident. Squires decided enough was enough, cut out fatty food, and started walking on a treadmill. The pounds came off and soon he was running marathons — not fast, but in the race. He ran his first 50-mile race in October 2003 and completed his first 100-miler a year later. Since then, he’s completed several 100-mile, 50-mile, and 50k races. His secret? “I’m not fast, but I’m consistent,” says Squires, who says consistency is his best tip for maintaining a successful fitness regimen.
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Writers Wisdom: Robert Frost on Authentic Writing
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” ~ Robert Frost
Miracles ~ Walt Whitman
Miracles
Walt Whitman
Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night
with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim- the rocks- the motion of the waves- the
ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?
Today’s Reflection: Respect
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~ Abraham Lincoln
Sleep Hack: Breakup with Your Clock
Ditch Checking the Clock at Night
Staring at a clock in your bedroom, either when you are trying to fall asleep or when you wake in the middle of the night, can actually increase stress, making it harder to fall asleep. Turn your clock’s face away from you. And if you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep in about 20 minutes, get up and engage in a quiet, restful activity such as reading or listening to music. And keep the lights dim; bright light can stimulate your internal clock. When your eyelids are drooping and you are ready to sleep, return to bed.
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Stress Hack: #1 of 4 Tips to Reduce Stress
Use Common Sense
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As in the five senses. One thing I really like to do when triggered in public is try to locate a nearby bakery and go inside to get outside of my head. The aromas of baked goods are incredibly comforting and trigger hunger so my focus gets redirected to something pleasant. Another trick is to head into any nearby Crate & Barrel. I love furniture browsing and Crate & Barrel is a browser’s paradise. I could spend hours in one. Sure, I walk out of there with mild depression over all the furnishings I can’t afford to buy and arrange in my perfectly appointed home that I don’t have, but at least I feel calmer. Music is another good distraction technique and there’s ample evidence indicating listening to music has a calming effect on both mind and body. So if I have my headphones handy, I plug them in and sail away to those Islands in the Stream.
